First-day guide

Your first day in Japan

Three things make the first day easy: send big bags ahead, buy the small things you need, and get online. Rules and prices change, so check each official page.

Send your bags with Yamato (Kuroneko)

At the Airport TA-Q-BIN counters, Yamato Transport can send big bags from the airport to your hotel or home. Ask at the counter when the bag will arrive.
Same-day delivery between some airports or stations and hotels exists, for limited destinations from limited counters, for example from a counter at Haneda Airport or at Kyoto Station. You do not need to book. Examples on the official page: size 160 from Haneda to the 23 wards of Tokyo, 5,780 yen; size 160 inside Kyoto city from Kyoto Station, 3,470 yen. Prices change.
From the hotel to the airport: send the bag so that it arrives at the airport one day before your flight. This works when your hotel is a Yamato partner. If it is not, send the bag from a convenience store or a Yamato office. You receive the bag at the Yamato counter at the airport on the day you fly, and your flight must leave from that airport on that day.
When you send a bag to the airport, send it at least two days before you leave (three days in some areas).
Limits: a parcel of size 200 (up to 200 cm) and up to 30 kg. Parcels over 30 kg are not accepted.
Sending from an airport counter has an airport fee of 660 yen, which is part of the rate. With Round Trip TA-Q-BIN you can drop the bag at the airport counter on the way home, with no waybill and no payment at the counter.

Checked on the official Yamato pages on 2026-10-04. Official Yamato pages (English)

What to buy at Don Quijote and drugstores

Show the Japanese word to the staff. The list follows the season you choose.

First-aid kit

BandagesSmall cuts and blisters happen on long walking days. Packs are cheap and come in many sizes.Show this word: 絆創膏 (ばんそうこう)

Wound disinfectantA small bottle or wipes for a scratch before you cover it.Show this word: 消毒液 (しょうどくえき)

Pain relief tabletsFor headaches or sore feet. Show the box to the staff and say what you need.Show this word: 痛み止め (いたみどめ)

Stomach medicineRich food and new meals can upset the stomach. Ask the pharmacist for the right one.Show this word: 胃腸薬 (いちょうやく)

Patches for sore muscles

Medicated patchesCooling or warming patches for sore legs and backs after many steps.Show this word: 湿布 (しっぷ)

Roihi-tsubo-ko spot patchesSmall round patches that people stick on sore spots. Easy to find in drugstores.Show this word: ロイヒつぼ膏

Blister plastersNew shoes and long days cause blisters. These plasters protect the skin.Show this word: 靴ずれ用絆創膏 (くつずれようばんそうこう)

Warmth (kairo)

Disposable heat patches (kairo)Stick them inside your clothes or put them in your pockets on cold days.Show this word: 使い捨てカイロ (つかいすてカイロ)

Warm socksTemples and old houses can be cold, and you often take your shoes off.Show this word: 厚手の靴下 (あつでのくつした)

Allergy items

Eye dropsFor dry or itchy eyes. Ask the pharmacist which type is right.Show this word: 目薬 (めぐすり)

Cold and dry air

Cold medicineAsk the pharmacist and say your symptoms. Do not take two medicines with the same ingredient.Show this word: 風邪薬 (かぜぐすり)

Throat lozengesDry air and long days outside are hard on the throat.Show this word: のど飴 (のどあめ)

Lip balmWinter air in Japan is dry in many regions.Show this word: リップクリーム

SIM or eSIM, cash and the way to the hotel

Buy an eSIM before you fly, or pick up a SIM at the airport, so that you have maps at once. If a page links to a partner, it shows the affiliate disclosure, and a commission never changes our advice.
Carry some cash for small shops. Cards work in many places but not in all. These are typical values: check each place.
An IC card, for example Suica or ICOCA, pays for trains and many shops. Get one at the airport or add one to your phone.
Keep the hotel address in Japanese on your phone, and the name of the nearest station. Ask the staff at the station or the airport if you are lost.

Back to my plan